BOOK REVIEW: Riverside couple capture appeal of pirate lore

When my editor asked me whether I'd like to review "The Book of
Pirates," I responded by e-mail that he should send me the book,
and closed my note by writing my initials "AR" (which was not meant
to be interpreted as "aaarrhhh"). My editor wrote back asking, "Are
you already practicing your pirate speech?" What followed were
several unprintable notes where grown men resorted to terrible
pirate puns.

My editor and I are not alone in this practice; for some reason
normally respectable sorts love doing bad Long John Silver
imitations. Newspaper columnist Dave Barry reported on two friends
who since 1995 have been spicing up their speech (and lives) with
pirate talk and behavior. The two men even gave themselves pirate
names (Cap'n Slappy and Ol' Chumbucket) and proclaimed every Sept.
19 as Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Although I am still new to pirate talk, after reading "The Book
of Pirates" I am looking forward to either Sept. 19, or just an
excuse, to go around saying things like, "You're a fobbing,
gorbellied, mammering, chamberpot-licking, pus-festering,
rum-fogged, scurvy-laden, sponge-spined, barnacled tosspot."

Aaarrhhhh.

Those pirate insults, and many more, can be found in "The Book
of Pirates," written by pirate lore experts Jamaica Rose and
Captain Michael MacLeod of Riverside (who met on a pirate-themed
sea cruise). The book's suggested audience is ages 8 and up, but
those young at heart can also appreciate this work. If you know any
young lads (or lasses) interested in swag, and desiring to know
more about The Sweet Trade (also known as piracy), well, me buckos,
it's time to lift anchor, fly the Jolly Roger, and hoist the sails
in search of this treasure.

Or, I suppose, you could just ask for it at your local
bookstore.

This is a book that is simultaneously didactic and fun. It
offers up the history of piracy, and covers such subjects as pirate
dress, food, weapons, ships, speech, tactics, treasure, flags and
games. Throughout the book are pages devoted to "Pastimes for
Scurvy Dogs," which translates to activities for readers. Boys and
girls are encouraged to do such things as write their own pirate
articles (such as "no relievin' yerself from the crowsnest"),
sending a message in a bottle (such as for a Skull and Crossbones
party), making a pirate costume (including a recipe for believable
blood), creating your own pirate name and identity, making antique
maps, learning how to do a proper treasure hunt, tips on creating
your own pirate flag, and creating a pirate's menu.

It's an impressive balancing act between fact and fancy, while
debunking many popular pirating myths. No, pirates didn't wear big
boots, weren't mostly white guys from England, and didn't usually
fly a black Jolly Roger flag with skull and crossbones. The reader
is educated and entertained on a number of fronts: the book offers
up biographies of famous pirates and privateers (sometimes there
was a thin line between the two), traditional ballads, the music to
"Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest," the poetry of Alfred Lord
Tennyson ("The Kraken"), and all sorts of facts.